Team Power, Life-Changing Results

This isn’t just any clinic. This is where it all began. Founded in 1938, Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic is the nation’s first cleft palate clinic and the oldest clinic in the world dedicated to improving the quality of life of infants, children, and adults through comprehensive coordinated treatment of craniofacial conditions. Whether these conditions result from congenital differences, trauma, or disease, this clinic has set the standard of care for nearly nine decades. LCPC accepts every child for care – they turn no patient away.

Part of what makes LCPC extraordinary is their revolutionary approach to care through their innovative Team Care model. Picture this: up to 13 different specialties meeting with patients
and their families, then collaborating to create the perfect treatment plan for each unique case. We’re talking plastic surgeons, pediatric and general dentists, speech pathologists, audiologists, orthodontists, pediatric medical professionals, feeding specialists, and social workers all working together as one unstoppable team!

LCPC serves as a crucial safety net provider for children with special needs in a dental health provider shortage area. They provide restorative care, trauma care, oral surgery, emergency coverage, orthodontics, sedation, and general anesthesia to patients who would otherwise not have access to these life-changing services.

The families they serve face challenges that most of us can’t imagine. One in 600 children is born with a craniofacial difference, and these conditions don’t discriminate. They affect children from all backgrounds. The clinic serves a diverse population because LCPC accepts every child for care. Foster and adopted children, children from the Plain People (Amish and Old Order Mennonite) community, and children utilizing Medicaid all find compassionate care at the clinic. Seventy percent of their patients come to the clinic with additional special needs such as hearing loss, speech issues, ADHD, autism, or other complex medical conditions.

In the craniofacial population, dental disease is much more common than in the general population. These brave patients deal with tooth decay, gum disease, tooth anomalies, and orthodontic problems affecting tooth alignment and jaw size. But this clinic has been giving hope to families and helping children thrive when they may have otherwise struggled to survive or live full, functional lives.

Patient Stories

Real Impact, Real People

Every patient has a story, and so does every parent. When Waleska, mother 
of now 13-year-old Jaden, was pregnant with him, she received life-changing news during an ultrasound: Jaden had a cleft lip and palate. The hospital immediately connected her to the incredible LCPC, and they’ve been caring for Jaden ever since. “They’re like family,” Waleska said. “We’ve been here for 
13 years after all.”

From day one, LCPC has been Jaden’s champion. When baby Jaden wasn’t gaining weight, the feeding specialist provided the right bottles and guided the family through feedings. Through bone grafting surgery, tube insertion surgeries, auditory care, palate expanders, and now braces, the clinic has walked alongside Jaden every step of the way. “It gives children a chance to thrive,” Waleska said.

Jaden

Because of donations from heroes like you, patients like Jaden aren’t burdened with hefty medical bills and are able to receive the care they need worry-free and debt-free. Today, Jaden is an A student who plays the flute and piano, loves math and art. His future is bright and so is his smile!

As I wrap up today’s dental adventure, I’m reminded that LCPC represents something bigger than medical care: it represents hope, innovation, and the unwavering belief that every child deserves a chance to thrive. For 87 years, they’ve been proving that when we come together 
as a team, when we refuse to give up on any child, we can accomplish the impossible.